Monday, May 04, 2009

The talk in early April was that the Jays were likely a 4th place team, or could even find themselves behind the Orioles for the basement spot in the AL East.

Well, they swept the O's in 3 games after their first series loss of the year. As predicted, the Jays couldn't handle the Royals, and I maintain it's was due to a mentality of "they suck." By losing 3/4 against KC, the Royals are now 1st in the AL Central, where they'd be 4th if they'd lost those 3 games. Tight division of shitty teams.

But the Jays showed what they showed under Cito in the past - resilience. They lost their first series, against a crappy team, and came back to sweep an even crappier team. Cleveland's in town for a couple games, and they're just as bad as Baltimore this season. Then they visit the sub-par Angels, the bottom-feeding Athletics, and finally, the first real test of the season - The Yanksees come to town. I should be at game 1 of that series.

So, 8 games against the worst teams in the American League. I imagine the Jays learned from KC and will perform well over this stretch. My concern is how it affects them when they finally see the pinstripes. It will either continue to be a huge confidence boost in this season, getting them amped up HUGE for the Yankees, or it will make them overconfident and they'll smack into a wall. Sure, New York hasn't been lighting it up this season yet, but they do have a ton of talent and are too good to take for granted.

One other thing - since Gaston and crew took over last summer, the Jays have the best record in the Majors. Maybe this time around, people will appreciate the laid-back, slap-on-the-back style that Cito uses instead of chalking up his team's success solely to his players.

18-9, best in the AL, most wins in the Majors (tied with the Dodgers who are 18-8).

89 more at-bats than 2nd17 more runs32 more hits12 more RBIS7 points higher average (.292)1st in doubles (1 more than Boston)Tied for 2nd in home runs20th in Strikeouts (batting, not pitching)Tied for 3rd in OBP2nd in SLG

So far, this is a powerhouse team at the plate.

On the mound? Less impressive, but 2nd in strikeouts, 1st in the AL.

Let's see how May pans out. Still a lot of questions with this team, and a decent slump could easily see them in 3rd and recalling the halcyon days of April.